No one is more surprised than Robin Wall Kimmerer that the book of essays she sent unsolicited to a small nonprofit publisher became one of the biggest word-of-mouth sensations of the 21st century so far. Jeff and Rebecca trace the Braiding Sweetgrass phenomenon and reflect on the ways Kimmerer blends Indigenous philosophy and practice with scientific knowle ... Show More
Sep 8
Ask Us Anything: Anniversary Mailbag Edition
Jeff and Rebecca celebrate Zero to Well-Read's first anniversary with a brief look at some of the show's most popular episodes. Then, they dip into the mailbag to answer listener questions about Book Riot's origin story, tips for staying focused while reading, how they manage the ... Show More
59m 25s
Sep 1
The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, with Rob Harvilla
Jeff and Rebecca are joined by Rob Harvilla, host of 60 Songs That Explain the '90s: The 2000s, for a conversation about Jonathan Franzen's award-winning breakout novel. They discuss Franzen's singular blend of Midwestern sensibility and postmodern satire, the Oprah controversy t ... Show More
2h 22m
Feb 2023
Riding on a High of Wanting to Be Different
Jeff And Rebecca cover a range of interesting listener emails, catch up with publishing pay raises, look back at 10 years of data from the YA category of New York Times Bestsellers, and discuss some recent reading.
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55m 59s
Jul 2023
Both Eyebrows Raised, But in Different Directions
Jeff and Rebecca talk about #booktwitter, do a little "book of the year" talk, wonder about how all-in Oprah is on THE COVENANT OF WATER, novelists suing OpenAI for copyright infringement, whether TikTok is really going to do this publishing thing in a serious way, and much more. ... Show More
56m 7s
Apr 2023
MAD MEN, But for Publishing
Jeff and Rebecca tease First Edition a little bit more, wind up the case of the manuscript thief, continue to have more things to say about LLMs, are tentatively interested in Questlove’s new imprint, consider Jeff’s recent return to #booktwitter, and much more.
Follow the podcas ... Show More
1h 2m
Dec 2024
The New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2024, Goodreads Choice Winners, Spotify's Most-Listened Audiobooks, and more.
Jeff and Rebecca get into the NYT's 100 Notable and 10 Best Books of the Year list, Goodreads Choice winners, Cormac McCarthy's distressing hidden relationship, and kidney stones.
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For more industry news, sign up for o ... Show More
1h 14m
Jan 2024
February "It Book" Knockout Round
After a ho-hum January slate of new releases, Jeff and Rebecca are back to working their way through a much stronger slate of It Book candidates.
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For more industry news, sign up for our Today in Books daily newslette ... Show More
57m 45s
Apr 2014
#47: Huge Turkeys at the Top
This week, Jeff and Rebecca talk about the acclerating growth of the audiobook market, the changes in money spent on reading materials, our poll about TBR piles, new books, and much more. This week's episode is sponsored by Squarespace and Oyster.
See omnystudio.com/listener for ... Show More
1h 13m
Dec 2022
The Best YA We Read in 2022!
This week, Tirzah and Erica talk about some of the best YA books they read this year. Subscribe to the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA newsletter! This content contains affiliate ... Show More
52m 19s
Apr 2022
From TikTok Aesthetic to BookTok Craze: All Things Dark Academia!
Erica and Tirzah talk about the rise of dark academia in YA, what it is, and recommend some great dark academia reads across genres! Follow the podcast via RSS, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Stitcher. To get even more YA news and recommendations, sign up for our What’s Up in YA new ... Show More
1h 2m